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Team thankful for the opportunity

American Samoa All-Star Head Coach, Pati Pati – encouraging Adan Mao and our defensive unit during their match up against Hawaii West, their final game of the classic that was held last week at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii.  [photo: Dann Ebina]
Showcasing God-given talents
tony@samoanews.com

American Samoa’s All-Star Head Coach Pati Pati – who usually doesn't spend much time talking — emphasized to Samoa News his sincerest appreciation and thanks to those who helped make Team Amerika Samoa’s journey possible, twice now, to the Junior Prep Sport (JPS) Paradise Football Classic II held last week at the Aloha Stadium in Hawai’i.

When asked about the team’s performance against the All-Star teams from California and Hawai’i, the Head Coach said, “I thought we did the best we could with the players we had. The teams from Hawai’i and NorCal had their best players, regardless of their class (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th).”

He said, “We had some sophomores and juniors that did not make the trip, but it would’ve really helped the team.”

As of the result, Team Amerika Samoa placed 4th in the classic, out of the four competing All-Star teams in the classic, as they lost both of their games. Their first loss against NorCal motivated them to either win, or be eliminated. Their second appearance against Hawai’i West was the eliminating loss for our local team. Pati told Samoa News, “Winning would have been good.”

He added “We stressed to the players that this was their opportunity to showcase their God-given talents to the colleges and university football programs so that some of them would be blessed with a scholarship to further their education for free.”

When asked if he thought that the trip to Hawaii was worth it, Pati said that he personally feels “that any opportunity given to our student athletes to get a scholarship to lessen the financial burden on parents, families, and the government – whether it be in sports or academic, is definitely worth it.”

Pati continued, “Whether we get one, two, or ten scholarships to either Division I, Division II, or Junior College – it was a worthwhile trip.”

Pati Pati who took was selected for the second time in a row to the Head Coach position for our local all-star high school football team — wanted to acknowledge and thank those who played a huge part in exposing the talent of our student athletes. “I would like to thank Honorable Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga and the government of American Samoa for having a heart for the youth of the territory.”

He added, “Thank you for all that was done for us on the trip, thank you for funding this trip. Thank you to the American Samoa Department Of Educations (ASDOE) as well as JPS Amerika.